Barbados is widely regarded as having some of the finest food in the Caribbean: which makes the food among the finest in the world.
Dine on delicious dishes served in some of the most idyllic restaurants imaginable. Yeah, life is good here.
Since moving to the island, we've documented the best of Bajan dining on our Instagram Hungry Barbados. These are five of our favourite restaurants. Seeing as the vast majority of visitors stay on the West or South Coasts, we've grouped our choices around there.
Be aware that this is not an exhaustive list, and indeed you'll likely enjoy a wonderful meal from a local stall or bar. But if you want to experience the Barbados food scene, you'll need a least a couple of these names on your resume.
Cocktail Kitchen
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Let’s start off at St Lawrence Gap: the Southerly hub of Barbados nightlife. (If you’re partying on the West Coast, head to Holetown’s First Street.) The Kitchen’s kitchen is helmed by the multi-award winning chef Damian Leach, so you can safely order any dish and know you’re in for a treat. Bespoke and classic cocktails make this a great place to either start your night or spend its entirety here. The elevated location, right on the corner, is a great place to people-watch as tourists and locals head out into the evening.
Champers
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Champers is one of the Big Dogs of the Barbados hospitality scene: you want to eat here, and you want people to know that you’ve eating here. As the name suggests, this is a high-end establishment with a menu that oozes confidence and class: offerings include – but are far from limited to – pan roasted pork chop with bacon-infused cream potatoes; shrimp & fish pasta; and grilled 10oz ribeye steak. The à la carte menu adds up – although you’ll know where the money goes – but there are very reasonable set-menus for lunch and dinner if you want the experience without the price tag.
Tapas
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Another South Coast offering, this is a lovely little restaurant overlooking the sea. Tapas doesn’t specialise in Spanish food: indeed the menu offering everything from Thai curries to burgers to numerous pastas, mostly served with seafood. (Pro tip: always go seafood.) The prices are a little less punchy than Champers and you can easily spend less than $100 (roughly £40) on a meal and a glass of wine. There’s also draft beer – a relative rarity on the island – courtesy of Dread Hop Brewery. Treat yourself to a post-prandial stroll down the Boardwalk for the full Tapas experience.
La Cabane
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“Oh, this is the night / It's a beautiful night / And we call it bella notte / Look at the skies / They have stars in their eyes / On this lovely bella notte...”
We challenge you to enjoy an evening meal at La Cabane and not find yourself humming Lady and the Tramp at least once over the course of the evening. Set directly on the beach, the trees whispering overhead, the candles flickering, the tide murmuring its secrets to the shore a few paces from your table, La Cabane is a swooningly romantic restaurant that may spoil every future date night from hereon in. The food is damn good, too, with a menu that prioritises locally sourced ingredients and a cocktail list that sings, along with the live band. It’s situated just above Bridgetown, so whether you’ve gone West or are living it up Southside, the journey shouldn’t be too difficult. Enjoy, you suave bastard, you.
Fish Pot
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Situated on the border of St Peter and St Lucy – the northernmost of Barbados’s nine parishes, and the only female one – Fish Pot will likely be a bit of a drive from your accommodation, but trust us when we say it’s worth the trip. Several trips, even. The restaurant serves the finest, freshest fish on the island, and you’ll want to sample as much of the menu as possible. Everything is good but may we nudge you in the direction of the seafood curry – a transcendent experience that, unlikely many of the dishes, is basically impossible to share. Three courses for $125 is a deal nearly as good as the food itself. It's also utterly gorgeous: right on the waterfront, with a chic, minimalist decor that will relax you the moment you sit down.
